A. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a liquid chilling system and more particularly to a water chilling and disinfecting system for chilling and disinfecting the water of any kind of independent container, and disinfecting the container itself.
B. Description of the Related Art
The method for chilling beverages or food containers by means of chilled water or other liquids is well known and recognized for its quick heat interchange rates. Such method is incorporated to equipment for chilling bottles of beverages contained in a refrigerator forty years ago, but it was discarded due to serious hygienic problems.
The above-referred chilling equipment was constituted by a thermally insulated container including a refrigeration unit including an evaporator is comprised by a copper pipe attached into the container and submerged in the water to be chilled. The water was circulated through the evaporator by a propeller driven by an electric motor in order to chill the water. Normally, the water remained into the container for months without be changed, thus becoming an optimum agent for the growth of harmful microorganisms, specially when the content of a bottle was spilled in the water.
The above-referred hygienic problems lead to the discouraging of the use of said equipment by the Wealth Secretary in Mexico during a cholera epidemics.
One chilling system for cooling a food product into a container is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,184,471 of Lossaco, which comprises a rotary container for receiving and holding the food product, a cooling station for cooling a liquid coolant, an ultraviolet radiation station for reducing the microbial contaminants in the coolant, and a circulation system for circulating the coolant from the cooling station to the container, from the container to the ultraviolet radiation station, and from the ultraviolet radiation station to the cooling station for reintroduction into the container for cooling additional food products.
As It was previously described, Lossaco system includes a rotary container by which it is expected to be achieved a continuous cooling process, however, the container can not be used to hold delicate food or beverage packages such as crystal bottles of carbonated beverages due to the high risk of damaging the container or even destroying it, which would be the case of the crystal bottles. Furthermore, even if it is used a PET or aluminum container for carbonated beverages, the continuous movement of said containers will lead to an important carbonate loose of the beverage, which would reduce the quality is taste of the product and in extreme cases, the continues movement will produce the explosion of the container due to the high pressure created by the carbonate into the container. Another disadvantage of Lossaco system is it high cost, mainly because it uses complicated and costly equipment, which is very difficult to use at a food selling point such as a mini market.
Another chilling system is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,423,191 of Bennet, which comprises: a special receiving chamber, a plurality of horizontally positioned refrigerant cooling lines in the bottom of said chamber, a body of liquid in said chamber having an equal volume or less than the volume of said chamber, said liquid being cooled by said refrigerant cooling lines, a refrigerant compressor/thermal electric unit, connected to said refrigerant cooling lines, an electric pump located in a corner of said chamber, for constantly circulating said body of liquid throughout said chamber over said refrigerant cooling lines, a tubing dispensing system connected to said pump that directs said cooled liquid onto and in between blood containers and/or other objects disposed within said receiving chamber, further comprising a transfer hose that transfers said cooled liquid from the vicinity of said pump to the opposite end of said chamber and a dispensing tube at the bottom of said chamber with circulation holes pointed toward the pump end of said chamber, a device for sensing water temperature in said chamber, a compressor temperature thermostat control which controls said refrigerant compressor/thermal electric unit to constantly maintain the temperature of said liquid to be 2.degree. C. to 6.degree. C., and a filtering means in the path of the cooled liquid to kill and remove bacteria, organic, and organic chemical material from said cooled liquid.
Bennet apparatus needs a specially designed receiving chamber having cooling lines connected to a refrigerant compressor, therefore, it is very difficult to adapt Bennet apparatus to use it with any other container. Furthermore, Bennet discloses the use of filtering means which disinfect the water that it is circulated throughout the receiving chamber, however if the receiving chamber is not disinfected before filling it with water, the water would remain infected since the disinfected water coming out form the filter would make contact again with the infected walls of the chamber.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,187 of Whaley, discloses a beverage chiller comprising: a refrigeration plant for chilling a liquid medium, said refrigeration plant including a chilling medium circuit and means defining a chilling medium supply port for discharging said chilling medium; multiple portable storage receptacles for receiving and storing food containers and said liquid chilling medium in heat exchange relation to said food containers placed therein, each of said multiple storage receptacles comprising a bottom wall and upstanding lateral walls enclosing a plurality of partitions arranged abreast for separating each said storage receptacle into at least three compartments, and at least one brace straddling said plurality of partitions for maintaining said partitions in place; said storage receptacle having means defining an inlet port for receiving said liquid chilling medium from said refrigeration plant; and means for manually enabling and disconnecting fluid communication between said supply port and said storage receptacle, whereby each said portable storage receptacle can be maintained at a chilling temperature while connected to said refrigeration plant and transported away from said refrigeration plant in a chilled condition to is another location.
Whaley beverage chiller cannot be adapted to all types of containers such as ices boxes, and it is not portable. Therefore, the containers must be transported to the place where it is installed the refrigeration plant in order to be connected thereto, and then transport the container full of the cooling medium to the point at which it will be used. In order to chill again the cooling medium, the container must be transported and connected to the refrigeration unit, which is not practical.
Furthermore, Whaley does not disclose the use of a water disinfecting system, which is important in order to avoid the infection of the beverage or food containers.
U.S. patent of Heuvel discloses a portable cooling device for serving large quantities of capped buoyant beverages to patrons and equipped with an insulated bulk liquid holding tank and a high mechanical capacity to rapidly cool a bulk coolant confined within said holding tank, said cooling device comprising a carrying frame for supporting the holding tank, a hitch assembly for hitching the device to a towing vehicle, wheels for transporting the device with the towing vehicle, means for partitive retainment of capped buoyant beverages within said tank in a systematic relationship, cooling means rated at a cooling capacity of at least 1,000 B.T.U. for each 100 gallon holding capacity of said tank for rapidly cooling the liquid coolant and said capped buoyant beverages within said holding tank, and accessing means for emplacing and removing capped beverages from said means for partitive retainment.
Heuvel system is a refrigeration unit having its own container--which raises is the weight of the equipment- functioning in a systematic relationship with the refrigeration unit, which can not be separated in order to be adapted to another container. Therefore, the whole unit must be transported to the place where it will be used.
Considering the above-referred problems, applicants developed a portable liquid chilling system having water disinfecting means, which can be used to chill and disinfect the water of any kind of independent container.
Applicants liquid chilling system comprises, in accordance with the present invention: a support frame including a support base; cooling means held by said support base; liquid conducting means attached to the support base of the support frame, including a liquid intake section to be connected to an independent liquid container, a liquid cooling section, attached to and passing through said cooling means, for chilling the liquid circulating through said chilling section, and a liquid returning section, for returning the chilled liquid, to the container, pumping means connected to the liquid conducting means, for pumping the liquid taken from the container by the liquid taking section of the liquid conducting means, passing trough the cooling means and returning the chilled liquid to a container by the liquid returning section of said liquid conducting means; liquid disinfecting means, connected to the liquid conducting means, for dispensing a predetermined amount of a bactericide substance to the liquid and, consequently, to the container, in order to disinfect the water and the container at the same time; and filtering means connected to the liquid conducting means, in order to filter and retire any solid form the liquid and avoid the plugging of the liquid conducting means.
Also, it can be added an antifreeze agent, in order to lower the freeze point and obtain liquid temperatures below 0.degree. C. in order to freeze the items in contact with the liquid.
Applicants liquid chilling system is completely portable, and can be easily transported from one container to another container in order to chill and disinfect the water of a plurality of containers without the need of moving said containers to the refrigerating unit. Thus, all the containers actually in use at the mini markets for example, such as iceboxes, can be used, avoiding the acquisition of heavy and expensive refrigeration equipment, and avoiding the disposition of said containers which in the case of ice boxes, represent tons of non biodegradable plastic, worldwide, which would have a serious and negative impact to the environment.
Among other important applications of the liquid chilling system of the present invention are:
Processing, conservation or transportation of food. PA1 Conservation or transportation of biochemical, pharmaceutical, or metallurgic samples. PA1 Conservation or transportation of live specimens such as fish, or vegetables including hydroponic samples. PA1 Conservation, or transportation of live biological samples such as tissues, corporate fluids, skin cells, human or animal organs, semen, ovules, etc. PA1 Heat interchange applications for cooling machinery with any kind of liquids, including exothermic chemical reactors temperature control. PA1 Medical therapy applications in which it is necessary to fresh or cool all or only certain parts of the human body for therapy or major surgery. PA1 Conservation or transportation of raw or processed food products, with or without individual packages. PA1 Use for outdoors activities, such as camping, fishing, hunting, etc., for cooling food and beverages.
And last but not least, with the liquid chilling system of the present invention, a fast liquid cooling rate is achieved without the need of additional equipment or without the addition of ice.